Hi everyone,
I have a line on 20 acres, with a custom built ranch in Central PA. The seller is someone who came to me before and I helped him sell a 5 unit apartment building. After closing that deal he approached me with this property. The house is beautiful. The 20 acres is laid out beautifully meaning it is all able to be used. No geographical obstructions. Right now 15 acres of it is used for farming. There is an adjacent property with 38 acres that the seller has informed me that may also be for sale from another owner.
I’ve already spoken with the zoning officer and he has informed me that current zoning allows for 1 acre lots. I can get the 20 acres and house for $235,000. So far, comps I have found on the house and property come in around $369,000. Except for this challenge which may kill the whole thing. The house sits exactly 1 mile from a nuclear power plant. 2 Huge cooling towers about 1/4 mile from the back edge of the 20 acres.
I’ve spoken with one developer who says that the towers don’t bother him. But I am not sure if he has the resources to make the deal happen.
I am still very new to REI having mainly done flips. A subdivision is something totally new to me. Even if I would flip the property to someone else to actually develop. I need some coaching on this. Thanks in advance for any help.
Willard
Willard,
Did the comps that you used to come up with a value of $369K have the same location as this property–ie, spitting distance to cooling towers of the plant? Are there any new construction communities going up in this immediate area?
I’m in eastern PA and there’s a nuclear power plant in the southern end of one county. The value of housing near the plant SUFFERS. It’s a big objection with buyers visually. Let’s face it, if the plant blows, we’re all in trouble, but the problem is with the impact on views.
If I were you, I’d do some poking around on how the plant is perceived in the real estate community before I’d even put the property under contract. By the way, I wouldn’t do the subdivision. I’d tie it up and then flip. But this may not be the property to do that on.
Nancy
Try contacting some realtors from Limerick PA. They have a power plant there (near where I grew up) and there has been tremendous growth of new housing developments. Most of the house around that power plant go for over $369,000 for the smaller homes. I know Central PA to be a horse of a different color though. Besides the power plant, is there anything else around that would ATTRACT people to buy homes there? Does it have close by access to a major road, shopping nearby or is it in the middle of know where? I think those are all very important things to think about. But I would find a few realtors in Limerick and ask them how out of area buyers feel about the power plant. Hope this helps